Lian NguyenHarper: The Graceful Willow
by JadeDragon220
Summary: Just a pointless one-shot exploring Jade's feelings and thoughts about her archer and the baby they now have together. Set during "Salvage." Rated T because I am a paranoid little child.


Dude... Lian Harper is on Young Justice. Am I the only one still freaking out?

Yes, I know I should be updating Legally Insane, but I've been studying for finals and I was plagued with a major case of writer's block (it's better now) so...yeah.

I'm not sure, but I think that Roy started letting himself go after Jade left him. That's just the impression I got, if he started treating his body badly before that and Jade didn't slap the crap out of him...I'd be surprised.

Hope you enjoy this really pointless one-shot.

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_Lian Nguyen-Harper, the graceful willow._

Jade smiled at her tiny infant daughter and gently rocked her in the bassinet. Lian's eyes flickered once, revealing bright, cobalt eyes - _Roy's eyes_, Jade thought. The little girl held her mother's gaze for a moment before she yawned cutely and drifted back off to sleep.

Jade chuckled softly and ran her hand over the babe's cheek. Lian was a truly beautiful child. Jade saw a lot of herself in her: the olive skin and the slightly Vietnamese features. But more often than not, Jade looked at her baby and saw nothing but Roy. Lian's glittering sapphire eyes and small tuft of ginger hair were obviously his, making Jade feel guilty everytime she looked at her baby.

She had the same feeling now, as she picked up the slumbering child and gently wrapped her in blankets. Jade had delayed this moment for far too long, she knew. It wasn't fair - to Lian or Roy - to keep the ginger archer's child away from him.

And perhaps this is what Red really needed, something weak and fragile that was totally dependent on him. Roy could ignore Jade, despite the fact that the archer adored her, but he couldn't ignore a baby... Not _his_ baby.

Besides, she had never intended to leave Roy for good. His obsession with finding and rescuing Speedy was completely unhealthy for both the archer and everyone around him. That's why Jade left him shortly after she learned she was pregnant. She hadn't wanted to bring a child into the world with a father that concentrated only on a boy that may or may not be gone. She had hoped that Red would straighten himself out in her absence and she would return to him, Lian wrapped proudly in her arms, and they'd be able to turn themselves into in modern day Brady Bunch.

Jade even had some of her more trustworthy contacts keep tabs on the ginger archer, so they could tell her when Roy finally lets Speedy go and gets his life back on track and they could give their marriage another try. She cared for Lian, she reinforced her reputation with the villians, and she waited.

But Roy's stubbornness was affecting his better judgement. Jade's contacts gave her increasingly bad reports. Instead of getting better, Roy seemed to be deteriorating. He wasn't eating or sleeping. He got fired from his job because he was too busy looking for Speedy to show up for work. His money quickly ran out and since he refused to use the trust fund Oliver Queen had supplied for him, seeing as it was in Roy Harper's name and he refused to '_steal_' form that boy anymore. As a result, he was evicted and had to move to a crappy little apartment on the bad side of town.

And then, of course, there was the fact that Red had taken to taking money from the people he rescued in order to fund his search for Speedy. If this was five years ago, Jade might have welcomed this sudden change in the archer's moral compass. But now, it was just unsettling. Jade had grown to love Roy's heroic tendencies.

Needless to say, Jade was growing _very_ worried about her husband. And he still _was_ her husband, since regardless of what Roy must think. Jade didn't want to leave him, but at the time it was what was best for her and her child. Despite that, Jade still loved Roy will all her heart. She hoped that after he learned the truth, he'd understand why she had to put Lian before Roy. Jade hated seeing the only man she ever truly loved in pain.

Lian snuffled softly as Jade slipped her into the pack and strapped it on her back. The girl was sound asleep, and Jade knew she would stay asleep through the whole journey. Lian had developed an ability to sleep pretty heavily, after all she was the daughter of an assassin for the League of Shadows and there had been some pretty close calls.

Mother and daughter left, nothing more than shadows in the darkness. They reached Roy's apartment building in no time. Jade easily found Roy's apartment and entered through an open window. She eyes the place with disdain, vowing that she would take Roy away from this awful place so the archer can have the proper environment and support so he could heal.

Jade started exploring the place, frowning at the horrible conditions of the place Roy now called home. She stepped over to the kitchenette and opened the cupboards. There was a few packages of Roman Noodles and instant macaroni, but not much else. Jade smiled, remembering a time shortly after they had gotten eloped. Roy was feeling romantic and offered to make dinner for her. Jade told him it was a bad idea and that she should help him, but the man insisted. Fifteen minutes later Jadenhad to help him extinguish their enflamed oven. When the smoke cleared Roy had looked over at Jade, smiled sheepishly and asked her if she wanted to go out for dinner. Jade hadn't laughed that hard in years. Her archer was a horrible cook, a fact that Jade found strangely endearing.

There was a sudden noise coming from the edge of the dingy apartment. Jade quickly shut the cabinet doors and turned towards the open window. It was Roy, coming home from a long night of doing his best to to screw up his life. Jade sucked in her breath, silently of course, when she saw him. Her contacts had taken blurry pictures of the archer, as well as being eerily descriptive of her husband's current physical state, but she hadn't expected him to be _this_ bad.

Roy was skinny, borderline emaciated, with deep hollows where his cheeks used to be and his whole body looked gaunt and haggard. His hair was greasy and matted, falling down to his shoulders. He had bags under his eyes, suggesting he hadn't slept in awhile, and he was sporting a godawful five o' clock shadow. He looked awful, and Jade hated the fact that she probably could've prevented this if she had stayed. Jade pushed the thought away. She did what was best for her child, nothing less. It was Roy's decision to start treating his body like crap.

Roy removed his mask and flopped down on the shabby, moth-eaten couch and signed heavily.

"_Someone looks worse for wear..._" Jade purred.


End file.
